Purchasing equipment for your bisiness.I like gear! To an extent, I have always been

[Ed Shapiro]

I like gear! To an extent, I have always been a so called “gear head” especially when I was younger. At tender age of fourteen, I started to apprentice in a wedding and portrait studio. Although, actually I was the gofer/janitor/slave/whipping boy/schlepper for all the more experienced employees, the experience I gained there I could not have acquired in any school or class. Being a young buck I was fascinated with equipment. I used to play hooky from school and visit all the camera shops in New Your City and I read every photography magazine I could lay my hands on- I knew my gear!

Armed with this vast degree of knowledge I used to make fun of my bosses rather antiquated equipment. I used to call his hot studio lights (photo-floods) Edison’s first light bulbs and the monster size studio camera a tribute to George Eastman. The 4x5 press cameras for weddings were the Anniversary Model of the Speed Graphic- OLD! The “portable” flash units were early Ascorlights that weighed in at 16 pounds just for the power supply- the head add another 1/5 pounds to the camera. Every time I put it on my shoulder I would sing the “…tote that barge- lift that bale… part of “Old Man River”.

One fine day, when the boss was not in the mood for levity or any more of my smart-ass sense of humor, he gave me a good “what for” and philosophical lecture telling me that good photographers make good photographs- not expensive cameras and fancy lights. He also told me (philosophically) that he is a photographer and could make a great photograph with a pin-hole camera and a candle whereas I am an idiot who was is expert in spending money on overpriced and overrated equipment.

I was a bit taken aback by my boss’s commentary but he was a great man- I loved him like a son and respected him greatly. So I got my 14 year old still undeveloped brain to function better and changed my tune and started to haunt pawn shops, dealers with a goodly inventory of used gear or special sale items and began to assemble the outfit I needed to shoot weddings for the studio- that would be my next step upward in the food chain of that business and I was also assisting by that point in time.

The first step is to prioritize as to which pieces of equipment were of the utmost importance in terms or reliability. Of course the camera was at the top of the list but even the best cameras can fail or be damaged in the heat of a full fledged big wedding assignment. Here is where the curse of redundancy rears its ugly head. You need a spare camera and there is no way to circumvent that requirement. No camera=no pictures! Of course this is spending money that could have gone to other needed equipment and accessories but where equipment failure is an issue; Murphy’s Law rules. This original rule was based on large format equipment, nowadays however, you can get a lower priced but decent DSLR as you second camera and you can OVERLAP and use both cameras at the same time with different lenses for quick photojournalistic shooting styles. If one camera goes down, you still have one to complete the job.

The same overlap holds true with basic flash equipment. I always shot my weddings and event photographer with al least 2 lights- one on and one off the camera. Again, if one unit failed, at least I have at least one light to complete the job with.

Nowadays we use modern DSLRs with a wide range of zoom lenses. In purchasing your basic lenses you should have both of them include a NORMAL setting for the bodies that you are using. One perhaps should have a longer telephoto range and the other should have a grater wide angle range. This way, between the two lenses, your have a very good range of focal lengths and if one should fail, at least you have one to complete the job with.

When purchasing studio lighting you can use my overlapping idea to cross over from portraiture to commercial work and offer both services to you clients. A simple idea is to start with a few AB units from Buff. Get a stronger unit to use as a main light for a wide variety of product work where you need the power for depth of field and evenly lighting a set from overhead with a large soft0box. This same unit can be used as a fill light system at the back of your studio to provide a great fill light in conjunction worth a weaker unit as a main. More light can be added later. Don’t worry about buying very high priced units unless you have the cash flow and budget to accommodate this expense. Also, by the same token, stay away from the very cheap imports- the just don’t last very long and have limited duty cycles. The AB units are simple, tough as nails and anyone with the lighting skills can produce top quality images with them. Paul C. Buff and his company offer impeccable after sales service.

If you use filters or soft focus attachments- buy the size required for your largest diameter filter thread and use step down adapters for the smaller ones.

Those are a few tips and ideas that helped me, over the years, that helped me to buy wisely and avoid costly redundancy where it is not practical. Any ideas from the rest of the gang- PLEASE LET US KNOW. More of this to come!

Ed

[wolfd]

That is good information and advice Ed. Thanks for sharing your extensive experience with us novices.

[Scrub]

Pleased to hear you have a positive opinion of PCB equipment. It is at the top of the list to replace my "starter set".

And many thanks for the reminder that better gear doesn't always make us better. I am far from the limits of my camera with one single exception, and I need to remember that when I am lusting after new gear.

[thcofer]

As always, Thanks Ed!

[Brooks]

Way back in the early 1990's a NY national ad agency set up shop in town. They had offices in NYC, Chicago and LA and they relocated their main office to Tampa....warm weather year round golf and boating etc.

They were a national food service ad agency working for clients like Heinz. The boys from Pittsburgh loved to come to Tampa in February for a photo shoot. I showed them my portfolio, which they liked, but they wanted only 8x10 transparency film for their full page and larger ads.

I had been shooting 4x5 transparency film for a lot of my work but that was the largest format that I had. So, in order to get their business, I had to purchase an 8x10 camera and lens, 8x10 film holders, an 8x10 Polaroid processor and 8x10 transparency and Polaroid film.

I spent about $10,000 on an 8x10 Sinar F camera, 360mm Schneider lens plus everything else mentioned above and another $8,000 on 2-4800ws Speedotron power packs, fresnel and optical spots and 4800ws heads.

The thing about shooting 8x10 large format is that it's a slow process and the film is very expensive. So I had to be even more careful with my focus, camera perspective and exposure before I exposed even the first Polaroid test shot. And you need a lot of flash to be able to shoot at f/45 using soft boxes and grids in closeup situations with lots of bellows factor.

Some shots with bubbles, steam or fire required capturing an exposure in a single pop of the strobes. Other times I could build exposures with multi-pops. But when I needed f/45in one pop even 4800ws wasn't a lot.

After a while shooting with the 8x10 camera became second nature. The controls became intuitive and I became really appreciative of that huge ground glass and those large Polaroids. I also found that it's hard to beat those spectacular 8x10 chromes on a light box.

Eventually the 4x5 format which I had used so much in the past became the small format for me with 2 1/4" film much like shooting 35mm, hard to evaluate without a magnifier and even harder to shoot to a layout compared to the larger formats. 35mm was for slide shows.

The point of this story is that having to use a different (better?), more expensive format did make me a better photographer. And it was all about the camera forcing me to grow as a photographer. Did the camera make the photographer in this case? I think it did to some degree.

Of course now I shoot with a relatively tiny sensor in my digital camera and it's so much easier and faster. My 8x10 Polaroids are now dwarfed by a tethered 24" Imac display but the skills I learned shooting 8x10 are still put in use today.

[zemlin]

I'm certainly guilty of enjoying complicated toys, but I do my best to keep it in perspective. For me it's about limitations. When I'm working, I want the limitations to be between my ears, not in my tool box. I don't lust after stuff just 'cuz it's cooler than what I own.

OK - that's a lie.

I lust after the good stuff, but I don't get serious about it.
When I feel a new tool would either make a noticeable improvement in the end product, increase productivity, or give me a significant boost in my capabilities, then I start saving my pennies.

I don't blame my shortcomings on gear. I also feel that using less-than-the-best helps you learn to be better. My first digital body was a D80. Shooting low light events with that camera taught me to push the exposure up, work with noise reduction, and appreciate fast glass. All of these things have carried over to help make be better with the D300s which is better in low light.

You see post from folks complaining about horrible noise from a D300 or D7000, or other very capable camera. I want to tell them to shoot a D70. When they start getting good results from that, then go back to the newer camera.

There are limits, of course. I'm confident a 400mm f/2.8 would enable me to make a big improvement in my sports shots - but I don't get paid for that work so it's a wee bit difficult to justify the expense.

[Steven G Webb]

I like the toys. Have you ever been at an auto repair garage when the tool truck stopped by? Mechanics are a close runner in the gear acquisition race. Maybe there is a genetic pattern common to photographers. I believe we all enjoy the ownership of those nifty neato pieces of equipment and accessories.

I don't blame my shortcomings on my gear. Having the appropriate gear and not possessing the skill to use it is not the same as needing the tools necessary to do a job. I needed some really bright flash units to light up horse show arenas. A candle and a pinhole camera just would not do. I evaluated my situation. Besides needing lots of light what else was required? Well, I don't need the light in my living room. The units have to travel well, they got to be reliable, and they got to be something I can afford and will get me that ROI in short order. What they did not have to be was new, or status symbols. So I bought a used set including a set of Pocket Wizards and 13' stands. I'm sure there are more powerful, higher quality and more costly lighting options out there. This is where need v.s. want comes into play for me.

I needed a camera when I first decided to pursue photography as a business again. I was working for another photographer and he was established in the Nikon system. Since he had 17 cameras, 27 lenses and a raft of other accessories, it only made sense for me to go with the (compatibility) flow. At that time the Nikon D2Xs was the current pro camera. The D200 when I was shopping options was very near being phased out. My ego wanted the D2Xs but my brain said the D200. I think the D200 is a special camera. It was the first prosumer model and I think they put more pro than sumer in them. Anyway, this camera fit my needs and at the time was $599 during a pre-closeout sale. About a year ago I developed a need for an additional camera, I purposely sought out another D200. Why? Because it produces an image quality that is adequate for my needs and has a track record with me for durability and reliability. Better cameras? Oh for sure, they are out there. Would I make more money if I had one? Not shooting what I'm shooting now. If I change specialties I may need some of the features available on newer generation cameras. I have saved myself thousands by getting a camera that gets the job done and sticking with it, rather than chasing the elusive butterfly of "new and improved".

[Mister Sith]

I really appreciate this thread and all the responses! As a young photographer with miserly teenage income (well, I guess an allowance and a minimum wage job is better than nothing!), I suffer altogether too much for eying gear I can't afford, nor could I really justify. But I've been getting better; I started to consider what would be necessary versus what I wanted, what I would use more versus what is "shinier". I've logic'ed myself out of blowing my savings on a Hasselblad, and instead invested in a good Bronica system that does exactly what I need it to. I'm slowly deciding on a 4x5 setup that is both cheap but still reliable, and I have already acquired a cheap pair of (very) used strobes to pass me over until I have the money for a proper set.

How ever, being a teenager, shiny and new things catch my eye, and I have that desire for something better. And that is why I thank you all, for your experiences teaching me that I don't necessarily need the newest and shiniest toy on the market. Basically, I have decided that I don't need that shiny, new 24-70 when the previous generation does the job darn well, though I definitely still want to acquire a 5D MKIII!

[Steven G Webb]

The wanton lust for new shiny stuff is not governed by age. Good for you in keeping your head and for saving for your gear. Hang in there.

[stef@apl]

Originally Posted by Scrub

Pleased to hear you have a positive opinion of PCB equipment. It is at the top of the list to replace my "starter set".

And many thanks for the reminder that better gear doesn't always make us better. I am far from the limits of my camera with one single exception, and I need to remember that when I am lusting after new gear.

I like pcb gear. It's lightweight and well built. But you should note the ABs do have color issues if you use multiple units and they are set more than about 3 stops apart. Even if you use only within 3 stops or only use one, whenever you adjust the power you need to shoot a gray card. My own testing revealed this to me so I'm not just repeating something I heard. Looks like the Einsteins are made to avoid this issue.